Quiet Nights
by The Crimson Wing
Summary: Gaara's slowly killing himself by overworking. Can Lee stop him?
1. Late Night

**Authors Note:** Eh, I'm tired, but I feel awful for not writing anything pertaining to the most excellent of Yaoi pairings and my personal favorite in a while. And so, I give you this. I hope it turns out well… Sort of AUish...

**Disclaimer:** Not. Mine. If it were mine, there would be so much side yaoi to the story that they would never be able to butcher it and slap it on cartoon network :3

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**Quiet Nights**

"It is late Gaara-kun, you should go and rest."

Rock Lee could never recall being so tired, yet still able to stay awake. On normal occasions when he felt like this the green beast would pass out on a bed and fall right into dreamland, but this was not normal. Lee was on a mission, a very important one at that.

Get his lover to stop his breakneck speed at work and get some rest.

The Kazekage's office was in a state of large disarray. Papers were strewn all over the floor, a cushion settled haphazardly in the corner where Gaara would sit, for a half-hour or so at a time, and catch his rest. Beside the desk a trash can was filled with empty boxes that had once contained food or parchment, clothes flung around the room in those rare occasions when the Kazekage would deem it mandatory that he clean himself, after which he would rush back to the office. It was unusual for the Shukaku container's environment to be so unclean, but he was on a rampage, neck deep in work that left little to no time for anything else.

Lee included.

The pen that was zooming across parchment paused and Gaara turned his chair around to face his lover. Lines of worry and strain ran across the redheads face, which was unusually pale even for his standards. A slight frown down turned the corners of his mouth when he took in the ragged appearance of Lee, fresh back from training.

"You should be asleep Lee," he responded, blatantly ignoring the Green Beast's comment. This brought a whine of discontent from Lee, but Gaara ignored it to turn around and go back to his work. There were still hundreds of papers on his desk, there was no time to stop.

"Gaara-kun," Lee said gently. His love, while wide and all encompassing, did not help his patience, which had worn thin over the month or so that his lover had been, slowly but surely, killing himself with overwork. Certainly he had patience with most things, look how he had become a shinobi, but watching his most precious person wear himself down to nothing was hurting them both; he was sick of it. "Please come home."

Without turning around, Gaara responded, "You know I can't Lee, after that Akatsuki ordeal I have to catch up."

"Temari and Kankuro said that they can aid you," a hint of pleading entered the Green Beast's voice, "killing yourself will do nothing for the village!"

No response this time. The paper Gaara had been writing on was set aside, replaced by a fresh document that he began to scan. Lee stood silent at his back for a long moment before he sighed. They'd been through this so many times, the leaf shinobi knew that this was the stopping point of this conversation and there was no way Gaara would let himself be ordered. Absently he stooped over, picking up a book and setting it near the Kazekage's arm.

"I will wait forever for you Gaara-koi," he murmured, starting for the door, "but I don't know how long I can just stand by and watch you wither away. Even my patience has its limits."

Furious writing stopped as the door clicked shut, teal eyes raising to study the wooden piece. The flutter of Lee's chakra nearby began to recede, slowly, as if he were waiting, or perhaps feeling a stinging blow; the Green Beast never had taken defeat well. Gaara's gaze swiveled to the book settled by his arm and he absently pulled it open, gaze scanning the pages.

He blinked in surprise, then reread a line.

_'He actually agreed! Indeed it is a great day to be Rock Lee!'_

Lee's diary. Err…Journal. Diary was far too unbecoming for Lee's manly ways. At the top of the page was the date from a year or so before when Gaara had first agreed to the arrangement of living together.

A foreign pain fluttered through Gaara's chest and he looked to the document he'd been filling out, finding the ink smudged and splattered awkwardly. The handwriting that was still legible was shaky and didn't appear to be his own.

Perhaps he did need a break.

Sighing, Gaara pushed out his chair and stood up, only then taking in his surroundings. It looked like a totally different person resided there. His expression hardened and he picked up a jacket that was folded over one of the ancient blades of his predecessors. Tomorrow he would fix that.

The little book was pocketed and the lights switched off as Gaara exited into the hallway. The night was quiet, a few ANBU stationed here and there. But inside, a certain side of Gaara was smiling wickedly. Tonight was about to get a lot less quiet. After all, he had to properly thank Lee for being so cunning.

**-Owari-**

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Kyuuu, I couldn't help it. There might actually be another part to this. NO, not a lemon or anything like that… just… another side to it.

Anywho, ciao!

-Crimmy


	2. Disaster

**Authors Note-** …I have returned… For my ONE REVIEWER! X.x Gaaaah. Oh well, I'll survive. This is dedicated to aforementioned one reviewer, VoucherMono. Grr.

**Disclaimer-** Haven't we all ready been through this? Not. Mine. K'thnxbye.

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**Quiet Nights**

_Part Two- Disaster_

Gaara had always known that Lee cared for him…Well, always meaning since Lee had proclaimed his love and he HADN'T flown into a homicidal rage triggered by memories. But that wasn't the point. The point was, since that first moment, the Kazekage had believed in Lee, never doubted that there was love and affection and care there. It even scared him sometimes to think how much care there was, how much faith his lover put in him.

But he dealt with it, kept that knowledge of the trust tucked away in his cracked, bleeding heart that Lee, with the help of Naruto and his siblings, had begun to heal. Now and again he was even glad for that level of trust as he always knew that Lee would be waiting for him when he needed support, would always protect him if he ever was scared or lost himself.

So there was no lack of surprise on Gaara's part when he returned home the very same night Lee had come to retrieve him to find Sakura Haruno curled up on his couch talking to _his_ Lee.

"Oh, Gaara-kun!" Lee called happily. He removed himself from the couch and bound across the room, bringing the Kazekage inside with a heartfelt embrace.

One that Gaara barely registered. He glared over Lee's broad shoulder at Sakura, who smiled nervously in return, and possessively wrapped both lean arms around the Green Beast. While Lee had assured him time and again that his love was for Gaara only and all other affection for any other was merely because they were his precious friends, it was still rather disconcerting to find his first love in _their_ home while the Kazekage was away. Some darker part of him, one that he had learned to contain but what still very much alive, willed a growl to rise in his throat.

"Lee." He said in a dead monotone. His grip, his stance, and everything about him in general screamed of discontent. Lee picked up on this and felt a little sliver of fear drizzle into his gut; not for himself, but for the pinkette on the couch.

He smiled. "Gaara-kun, isn't it wonderful?" He turned, gesturing to the girl who looked like she rather wished he wouldn't, "Sakura-san arrived in Suna with a package only a few minutes ago! She thought you would be at home by now," this part, Gaara noted, was said with some tension and reprimand, "and decided to wait up with me."

Wait up with me. This served to sate some of the anger radiating from Gaara's inner beast and he looked up to study Lee's expression. It was warm and friendly as per usual, affection apparent, a slight spike of fear hidden in his eyes, but no foul play. Lee had always been a bad liar; as a matter of fact, he COULDN'T lie, it was physically impossible for him. So, with this in mind, the Kazekage nodded, released his grip, and crossed the room to the mint eyed girl.

They had to get one thing straight right then.

"I don't like you Haruno," he said flatly, "and I really don't like you near Lee." A soft noise of protest emitted from Lee behind him, but Gaara ignored it. "But if you are a friend, I will allow your presence. However, if you so much as _think_ of Lee in any other manner…"

The threatening tone of his voice was enough. Sakura seemed to relax at this, letting off an easy laugh and nodding, though some of the tension still remained apparent in her form.

"If that's all, you don't need to worry Gaara-sama, I'm happily engaged." She reached over to a package sitting by her feet and extended it outwards, "As a matter of fact, there's something pertaining to that inside."

The look Gaara gave her told that she had outworn her welcome, so Sakura stood quickly, swinging her bag onto her back and crossing the room. She bowed to Gaara before turning a nervous smile to Lee, unsure of what would set off the unstable Kazekage.

"Well, goodbye Lee-san…"

Lee happily crushed the apprentice of Tsunade in a bear hug with an exuberant cry of, "It was nice to see you Sakura-san!" He released her moments later and, winded, the girl staggered out the door.

Gaara stalked across the room, looking rather like a predator. This caused Lee to grin and take a few uncertain steps backwards, not out of fear of course, but out of the fact that Gaara looked as if he was going to shred him into itty bitty pieces and throw him out on the wind. Nothing read on his expression, but the posture said it all to a very perceptive-of-Gaara's-moods Lee.

He was annoyed.

When he was effectively cornered, Gaara leaned on the arm that wasn't holding the package from Konoha and looked up to the Green Beast. His smirk was a bit more at ease and settled some of Lee's concerns, raising a few more of them.

"Gaara-kun?"

"Mm?"

The Leaf Shinobi shook his head and leaned down, planting an affectionate kiss to the smaller male's lips and smiling the smile reserved only for the Kazekage. It was utterly adorable how Gaara blushed and scowled at the same time and, while Lee felt a little bad for exploiting this weakness, he just couldn't help himself.

"Let us open the parcel, hm?"

Looking fairly annoyed (at what even he didn't know) Gaara took a few steps backwards, going to sit down on the couch. Lee slid beside him and leaned his head atop of the red head's, arm about slender shoulders. For a moment there was only the sound of ripping paper…

"How beautiful!"

From the box Gaara pulled a green bottle, a tag attached to it reading 'To A Long Life. Take Care of Each Other.'. He grit his teeth and quickly hid the tag before Lee could catch sight of it; having his plans ruined by a bunch of Konoha brats would do no good.

At the bottom of the box was an envelope, one Gaara was wary of opening around Lee. But the Green Beast was squirming eagerly and Gaara instinctively knew that he would never sleep if he did not get to see the contents, so he resigned himself and pulled it out, slitting open the top and removing the contents. An invitation.

"You are invited to Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura's wedding." Lee read aloud. His face broke into an even more broad grin. "Isn't that wonderful, Gaara-kun? A wedding!"

Gaara was shocked, but at the same time pleased. If they married one another, there would be less of a problem for any males to worry about. "Yes." He placed both bottle and card in the box and cast a serious glance up to his lover. "Let's get to bed, you look ready to pass out."

To this Lee gave a wholehearted nod, untangling himself from the red head and standing. He yawned and stretched before starting for their bedroom, rubbing the back of his neck and looking overall exhausted and…adorable. The jumpsuit's back was unzipped as he began to walk, the top peeling away.

A wave of possessiveness hit Gaara again and he glared at the windows as if daring someone to peer in. When Lee was safely in the bedroom, the Kazekage pulled a small box from his pocket, one that contained a ring, and absently flicked open the top.

Maybe he'd demand Lee marry him tomorrow. If the Green Beast had any more excitement tonight he would never go to sleep and _that_ would be a disaster.

The ring was pocketed and the lights turned off, Gaara setting down his gourd with a 'thud' by the door before swinging it closed. His plot for ruining the peace was ruined but, as he stripped himself and curled into bed beside a soundly sleeping Lee, he deemed it to be all right. After all, just being near the Green Beast was enough to make him content. Kohl rimmed eyes closed and a sound breath was released.

Outside there was a scream that sounded strangely like Naruto. "Gaara!!!"

Both teal eyes snapped open with a groan and the Shukaku container sat up, glaring at the window where he was sure the blonde would appear. Unfortunately, the calming effect that was Lee was out like a light, unable to help his boiling annoyance that was bound to be unleashed on the loudmouth blonde.

So much for his damn quiet night.

**Owari**

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Gah, shaky ending. Oh well, it's done! Hope someone out there enjoys it X.x

-Crimson


End file.
